In the year since Thomas and Donna Puksar were found shot to death in their posh Bern Township home, the investigation has been wrought with controversy, political infighting and finger pointing, with no resolution.

Thomas, who was 43, was shot 10 times with a .22-caliber handgun. Berks County Coroner William Fatora ruled his death a homicide. But his 40-year-old wife died from a single, close-range shot from the same gun to her temple. Investigators have yet to determine if she shot her husband, then turned the gun on herself, or if she also was a homicide victim.

The latest effort to end the mystery is an inquiry by a county investigative grand jury. Although such proceedings are secret, officials did not deny its existence. The grand jury requested in November that a coroner's inquest be delayed until it can investigate the case.

"I think the last chapter in this story hasn't been written yet," Fatora said.

Grand juries can recommend the district attorney file charges or not file charges; it can issue a finding of fact or come to no conclusion at all, District Attorney Mark Baldwin said.

"Generally speaking, an investigative grand jury has the ability to subpoena witnesses, business records and to obtain other evidence which is not available through traditional investigative means without someone being arrested," Baldwin said.

Evidence in the Puksar case seems to point to both a homicide-suicide and a double homicide.

Donna was found April 16 in a basement powder room by her husband's co-worker who had come to the 36 Scenic Drive residence for his daily coffee. He phoned police, who later found Thomas in a basement storage room being converted to a wine cellar.

The case initially was presumed to be a homicide-suicide, and officials have conceded they may have missed some evidence or failed to make proper tests in the first few hours after the bodies were discovered.

A few weeks into the case, state police at Reading issued a statement that cast suspicion on Thomas Puksar's brother, Ronald of Easton. It said Ronald was the last person to see the couple alive and that the gun used in the killings had been bought by him in Allentown 20 years ago.

State police also said Ronald Puksar owed his brother several thousand dollars and had made no effort to repay it. He also was not cooperative with police, they said.

Police pursued the case to California, where Ronald lived before returning to Northampton County. But police have not arrested him.

Ronald has phoned the media with information and theories about the deaths, many of which investigators said were false or they could not confirm.

Ronald told The Morning Call that his brother owed him money and that Thomas did not pay or treat his employee, Trevor Hartman, well. He also said Donna Puksar was pregnant, despite her husband's vasectomy. Fatora said Donna was not pregnant.

Thomas also kept large amounts of cash around the house, so robbery could have been a motive, Ronald said.

Although police have been mum on whether anything was missing from the home, a $50,000 model train and other valuables were left untouched.

Ronald Puksar declined further comment for this story on the advice of his attorney.

Dr. Neil Hoffman, a forensic pathologist, said the gruesome scene was consistent with a murder-suicide, but he could not rule out the possibility that someone set it up to look that way.

Both scenarios have been tossed around by investigators, families, friends and neighbors.

Neighbors reported the couple were quiet but friendly and spent time landscaping their yard. Family and friends said the pair were desperately in love, and they could find no reason for a dispute severe enough to result in murder.

And business associates said Donna, a Meridian Bank vice president, and Thomas, owner of a heating and refrigeration business, had no enemies or illegal ties.

But information later surfaced that indicated the couple may have had a troubled five-year marriage, investigators said. The marriage was the third for Thomas and the second for Donna.

Their families have not shared their grief. Shortly after the deaths, both families were in court to dispute who would inherit the Puksars' substantial estate. Two different wills were found. And without a ruling on whether Donna was a victim or assailant, the estate issue has yet to be resolved.

Yet the biggest infighting to plague the case was among those investigating it.

Last fall, Fatora perceived that the investigation was stagnating and that he was being left out of the circle of information. He called an inquest to see if a manner of death could be determined for Donna.

Then District Attorney James Bucci, the second district attorney in office during the investigation, sought to block the inquest in court. After much battling, in which Fatora accused Bucci of overstepping his bounds and Bucci said Fatora would muck up the investigation by holding a public inquest, the two agreed to settle their differences and continue to investigate.

Bucci, a Puksar neighbor, was replaced in January when Baldwin took office. Baldwin said an inquest remains a possibility.